Terminology, revisited.

I know a terminology debate has had to have been done before, but let's revisit this.

-- On what levels are the terms pro-life, anti-choice, and anti-abortion the same? How are they different?-- On what levels are the terms pro-choice, pro-abortion, and anti-life the same? How are they different?-- Which of these six terms to you consider yourself, and why? Which do you find offensive? Why?-- Which do you believe the opposite side should be labeled, and why? Which of these offend you? Why?-- Should we find motive-neutral term to designate each side? Should we regulate the usage as it pertains to the opposite side? Should we simply stick with the well known "pro-life" and "pro-choice" terms that are allowed in this community to date? Should we allow the terms to designate one side of the issue (i.e. as either a woman only or life only issue) when the community deems it as multi-faceted?

Long story short, I want to know your opinions on the terminologies in use today with regards to each side.

I understand the desire for someone to choose to use terms such as anti-choice or anti-life.

For someone who sees the heart of the abortion issue as a woman's choice to do with her body as she deems best, the term pro-life might be considered an overtly positive term that does not touch upon the issue of abortion, which is the right to choose. Thus, anti-choice is a far more balanced counterpart to the pro-choice view.

On the other hand, someone who feels strongly that the issue of life is the heart of the abortion issue might consider anti-life to be the best balanced term to the idea of pro-life, for someone who supports the choice of murder does not have the fetus's life at heart. To them, supporting murder is a very anti-life viewpoint that should be justly termed.

I know some people that support of the terms pro- and anti-abortion. Those who support the choice of abortion thereby support the act of abortion, and should be labeled as pro-abortion. Those who oppose the act of killing the fetus would be against the act of abortion, and thus should be labeled anti-abortion. To them, the terms cast no real advantage to one party or another, as the term "abortion" carries the connotation of the reader. For someone who believes that abortion is an issue of choice, they will read the term as someone's support or opposition to a woman's choice. For someone who believes that abortion is a life issue, they will read the terms as whether or not someone supports the fetus's right to life.

I don't know what I think of the use of the "abortion" suffix. I guess it would depend on the view of the middle-man, those people who don't consider abortion a real issue and don't know much about it. To me, those people might assume that the issue would be on killing unborn babies without giving enough weight to the pro-choice side. But my viewpoint is that it's a life issue, so I could very will be biased with this assumption.

Really, I'm all for us labeling ourselves. I am proud to call myself pro-life, because I feel that it's an issue of the right to life for the fetus. I am very opposed to being called anti-choice, because I do not think that choice is the issue here. I am against the killing of an unborn child, and therefore am against legislation that supports what I consider murder. A woman is welcome to kill her child, I believe, whether it is in or out of the fetus. However, I think that the woman deserves every moral and legal consequence that comes with it. To me, the term anti-choice implies that I think women shouldn't choose to do with her body as she pleases. In a very narrow sense, this is true, but only in as much that I don't want a man doing with his body as it pleases if it involves raping a woman. I don't deserve the label anti-choice.

At the same time, I think I have as much right to label another's view as they have to label mine. Someone who is pro-choice might not consider themself anti-life simply because the death of an unborn child is not the same as the death of a woman. This would be a weighted label that I have no right to give! I'm basically forcing the opinion that directly opposes mine onto someone who obviously doesn't hold it.

In short, I think that we should choose two very broad terms to encompass the opposing view, and label our own as we see fit. Pro-choice and pro-life are the the most commonly used, so I myself want to use them until more neutral is accepted.